The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Australia's premier ocean racing club, last night announced its Ocean Racer of the Year Awards, recognising excellence in four categories of ocean racing.

Over the years, the Award winners have included many of the nation's outstanding sailors and this year's nominations presented the selection panel with one of the most difficult choices, in particular, for the prestigious Ocean Racer of the Year.

The four categories are Ocean Racing Crewperson, Ocean Racing Rookie, Ocean Racing Veteran and Ocean Racer of the Year.

The CYCA Ocean Racer of the Year is the most prestigious award given by the CYCA to an individual. It is awarded to an owner of an ocean racing yacht that has excelled above the others in the previous year.

Four yachtsmen have stood out as having achieved outstanding results for themselves, their crews and their countries over the past year - Neville CRICHTON with "Alfa Romeo", Bob STEEL with "Quest", Bob OATLEY with "Wild Oats" and Colin O'NEIL with "Aftershock".

Bob OATLEY has enjoyed major successes in Australia and internationally with his Reichel/Pugh 60-footer "Wild Oats", the first yacht built in Australia with a canting keel.

Making its debut at the 2001 Hamilton Island Race Week, "Wild Oats" won the highly competitive IRC Division, and then took line honours in record time in the 2003 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Race, also winning the IRC Division on handicap.

In July, "Wild Oats" and "Aftershock" won the famous Admiral's Cup in England for the first time since 1979.

Neville CRICHTON won the IRC division of last year's British Trophy Series, and then went on to take line honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race before campaigning his Reichel/Pugh 90 "Alfa Romeo" in Europe with unprecedented success, including taking line honours in the Rolex Fastnet Race, the Rolex Giragalia Cup and the Rolex Middle Sea Race. The Sydney-based New Zealander recently was named New Zealand Yachtsman of the Year.

Bob Steel has had a long list of handicap wins with his Nelson/Marek 46 "Quest" in Australia's major ocean racing events and offshore regattas, including the CYCA Blue Water Championship 2002-2003, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2002, the 2003 Australian IRC Offshore Championship and IMS and IRC Division 1 of the 2003 Sydney Mooloolaba Race.

Last night the three nominees for Ocean Racer of the Year, Bob OATLEY, Neville CRICHTON and Bob STEEL were recognised by the CYCA with a Special Commendation going to all three, a first in the 16 years of the awards.

Following this presentation, Commodore John MESSENGER announced that the panel had selected Bob STEEL as the Ocean Racer of the Year.

"In the 16 years that we have presented the Ocean Racer of the Year Awards, there have never been so many nominees worthy of recognition for the category of Ocean Racer of the Year, but unfortunately there could only be one winner," said Commodore Messenger at the presentation.

The CYCA's Ocean Racing Crewperson award goes to a non-professional crewperson who has, by their deeds, provided enormous assistance to an owner in order to go ocean racing.

The 2003 Ocean Racing Crewperson this year went to David Ellis, crewman on last year's Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Overall winner, "Quest".

David, who is nicknamed 'Dellis', has been sailing for more than 30 years starting with 16-foot skiffs in the 1970s as the for'ard hand for Mike GREEN, another "Quest" crewman.

From there he moved into keelboat racing, competing in his first Sydney Hobart Race in 1977 on board Patrice III. Kenwood Cup, Admirals' Cup with Syd FISCHER's "Ragamuffin" in 1985, line and handicap honours on Sovereign in 1997, line honours win on "Ninety Seven" in the stormy Hobart of 1993 and finally an overall win in last year's Rolex Sydney Hobart Race are just some of the highlights of his sailing career.

The CYCA Ocean Racing Rookie of the Year goes to an owner of a yacht who is new to ocean racing and has shown promise in the sport.

The only interstate winner in this year's awards went to Christian JACKSON from the Royal Geelong Yacht Club for the Rookie of the Year.

Christian, from Victoria's surf coast has been a Club member for only two years but in that time has completely immersed himself in yachting.

His first purchase was a Catalina 24, which took out the 2002 Melbourne - Hastings Race in the PHS Division. This wet his appetite sufficiently to purchase the IMS Elliott 49 "prowler" which he optimised before achieving the following results:

Line honours in the 2002 Hastings Race
New race record in the Melbourne - Launceston Race
Second over the line in the Melbourne - King Island Race this year
Handicap honours in the Southport - Mackay Race
Line honours in each race she competed in at Hogs Breath Week and Hamilton Island Race Week.
He flew to Sydney to be present at the award ceremony and was accompanied by one of his crewmembers, Tony Fowler.

The CYCA Ocean Racing Veteran of the Year goes to an owner or crewperson who falls into the category of being a veteran and has achieved noteworthy results.

John WALKER, who is skippering his boat Impeccable in this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, his 20th, collected the Ocean Racing Veteran of the Year Award.

At 81, John is the oldest skipper in the fleet, and remarkably, he has completed all 19 Hobarts on "Impeccable", last year picking up a 3rd in division for both IMS and IRC divisions of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Tom Burton (AUS) and Alison Young (GBR) hit the right note in the Laser and Laser Radial at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as they took out the top honours and qualification spots to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final.

It was double Australian gold in the Paralympic classes. Matt Bugg (AUS) came out on top in the 2.4mR whilst London 2012 Paralympic SKUD18 gold medallists Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS) were triumphant in the two person keelboat.

Lithuania's Juozas Bernotas came out on top in the Men's RS:X whilst Russia's Stefania Elfutina was triumphant in the Women's RS:X. Both sailors claim the first Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spots whilst Jock Calvert (AUS) and Joanna Sterling (AUS) picked up the Oceanic spots for the Emirati finale.

There was some fast paced action in the 49er and 49erFX Medal Races at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as Nathan Outteridge & Iain Jensen (AUS) and Maia & Ragna Agerup (NOR) claimed the honours and Abu Dhabi final spots.

A tight group of five young Papua New Guinean (PNG) Laser sailors are stepping up their 2015 Pacific Games competition program using this week's ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne. PNG is one of 33 countries represented at the important Oceanic event, the largest Olympic sailing regatta in the southern hemisphere.

Melbourne, Australia will host the final Rio 2016 Paralympic Games qualification regatta in 2015. With just under one year until the event, the 2015 IFDS Worlds was launched at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne kick starts the journey to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with qualification spots and top ranking points available in the Australian city.

Four boats in the Volvo Ocean Race celebrated rounding the venerated landmark of Cape Horn on Monday, a pleasure cruelly denied Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) after the Chinese boat's mast was broken early in a dramatic day on Leg 5.

The wind played dirty tricks all day in Palma on the sailors and race committees who had to juggle with big shifts and different pressure. From 4 to 20 knots, and reaching 40 in some gusts, the wind turned around the bay playing with everybody's nerves.

Ghosting across the line in the inky blackness of a Mediterranean spring night, finally slicing through the finish line set on the very waters where some 40 odd years ago he cut his teeth as a young, aspiring sailor harbouring great dreams, at 01:47:00hrs local time Guillermo Altadill and his talented, ever reliable Chilean co-skipper Jose Muñoz secured second placed in this third edition of the Barcelona World Race, the round the world race for two crew which left the Catalan capital on December 31st 2014.

Algoa Bay brought lighter conditions on Sunday, and after a postponement waiting for the wind to settle, the race got underway in 7 knots of breeze from the south-east. Ted Conrads and Brian Haines from the USA were the pathfinders, and opened up the gate for the fleet as they sailed out to the right-hand side of the course.